1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a wind damage mitigation and the harnessing of wind energy, and more particularly to a device which mitigates wind damage by applying a downward force to roof structures while simultaneously harnessing wind forces to produce energy.
2. Description of the Background Art
Every year, billions of dollars are spent on repairs due to wind damage. Many of these repairs involve damage to roofs or roof replacement entirely. The problem is especially prevalent in geographic locales which are subject to extreme weather patterns (i.e. Florida). Once a roof is damaged, the interior of a house may become exposed to the harsh elements often resulting in additional damage. The biggest concern for homeowners living in these harsh environments is preventing damage to roof structures.
High winds are known to create upward lift forces on roof structures on residential and commercial buildings. The sharply angled nature of the roof-wall junction causes swirling that creates an upward suction effect which acts on the roof. The upwardly pulling suction force becomes very powerful in high winds and is often powerful enough to break away a roof entirely from the rest of the house. The incidence of the suction phenomenon is greater when the wind is projected onto a flat-roofed building. The uplift force is considered to be the greatest force subjected to a building and is a common reason for failure.
The suction force is created when wind is acting in a generally perpendicular onto the side of a building. When the wind acts on the corner at the roof-wall junction, a conical-shaped vortex is created along the edges of the roof. The nature of the vortex creates a low pressure field along the roof-wall junction of a house. This phenomenon is responsible for the large uplifting force on the roof.
In view of the damage caused high winds, the background art reveals a number of attempts directed to adapting structures with wind mitigation systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,348, issued to Banks et al., discloses a system for mitigating wind suction atop a flat or slightly inclined roof. Numerous embodiments of a rooftop apparatus are provided which work similar to a spoiler on a car. The strategic placement and shape of an elongated apparatus mitigates the wind's suction forces created by strong lateral gusts projected onto the building. Once installed, the apparatuses are static and do not move. They simply redirect the flow of fluid (wind) to pass over the rooftop.
One shortcoming of this system is its fixed nature that is not capable of being set into motion. Dynamic movement of such a structure would maximize efficiency by not only redirecting the flow of the wind, but also using the wind to project a downward force on the roof, thus countering the suction effect. Furthermore, the wind contains an abundance of energy which is simply wasted when it is redirected and allowed to flow over the roof of a house. Therefore, it may be contemplated that such an apparatus could capture the energy of the wind as well.
Accordingly, there exists the need for new and useful devices and systems for mitigating the uplift effect caused by wind forces on a roof. Furthermore, there exists a need for a wind mitigating device that can be retrofitted onto a building and need not be installed while the structure is being built. Finally, there exists a need for a system which not only mitigates wind forces on a building, but harnesses wind forces in order to create energy. It is, therefore, to the effective resolution of the aforementioned problems and shortcomings of the prior art that the present invention is directed. In view of the wind mitigation systems in existence at the time of the present invention, it was not obvious to those persons of ordinary skill in the pertinent art as to how the identified needs could be fulfilled in an advantageous manner. The instant invention addresses this unfulfilled need in the prior art by providing a wind mitigation and harvesting system as contemplated by the instant invention disclosed herein.